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PROS

CONS

A little short.

VERDICT

Though its subject matter may be bleak, DEVICE 6's ambitious and intelligent re-invention of the text adventure is a joyous and unique experience.

Full Review

App Store Info

In DEVICE 6, words will set you free. As you navigate your way through Year Walk developer Simogo's text-based adventure, you quickly come to realise that the words on screen are your eyes, your ears, your map, your compass, your salvation, and - potentially - your doom.

You assume the role of Anna, a woman who is trying to escape the confines of an unspecified island. Like an '80s adventure book, her story unfolds via blocks of text punctuated by moments of interactivity. These moments usually you inputting numbers or characters into a keypad, activating recorded messages, or simply watching video screens.

However, is not just the content of the text which brings DEVICE 6's bizarre and claustrophobic world to life. As you read, the words onscreen begin to reshape themselves to reflect the locations the describe. When Anna walks down a corridor, the text converts from paragraph formatting into a single snaking sentence. As Anna comes to a corner, the sentence will veer off on a 90-degree angle, forcing you to rotate your iPhone to continue scrolling and reading.

It a simple but ingenious trick, one which constantly forces you to adjust your perspective. The sense of disorientation created by these shifts in perspective echoes Anna's own confusion, drawing you deeper into her strange and often disturbing journey. Sometimes, grey text will flank the main narrative, offering snippets internal monologue that hint at deeper mysteries.

The story is peppered with perverse imagery, strange riddles, and inferred violence. The puzzles are equally inventive and unusual, forcing you to examine every photo and analyse every sound for potential clues. It's a heady combination of theme, form, and function, all working together to impart a haunting tale of isolation and manipulation.

DEVICE 6 not only explores the boundaries of narrative storytelling, it also demonstrates the creative potential of touchscreen gaming. Though its subject matter may be bleak, the game's ambition and intelligence make it a joyous and truly singular experience, one which adventure game fans won't want to miss.

Description

** Winner of Apple Design Award 2014 **

A surreal thriller in which the written word is your map, as well as your narrator.

DEVICE 6 plays with the conventions of games and literature, entwines story with geography and blends puzzle and novella, to draw players into an intriguing mystery of technology and neuroscience.

Anna wakes up in a castle on a remote island, with little recollection of how she got there. All she remembers is an unusually unpleasant doll.

Why are there two identical castles on the island? Who is the mysterious man in the bowler hat? And above all, what is the purpose of the tests Anna is put through?

Read, listen and peek into three-dimensional photographs to solve the bizarre mysteries of DEVICE 6.

"DEVICE 6 is designed to linger in the mind long after the last code has been cracked and the last sentence read. Spy stories - even traditional ones - often haunt their readers' dreams once they've been completed. It's only appropriate, really. Is that a final full-stop or a microdot? Is this the end of the affair or an invitation to go deeper?"
Eurogamer - 9/10

"In using its text both as narrative and as geography – and through its impressively restrained use of illustration and sound – it generates an almost unrivalled sense of place. It isn’t embarrassed to allow Device 6 to be a game when it needs to be, and yet it knows precisely when to let the story take over. The result is a sharp, striking mystery that is at once provocative, extraordinarily stylish and altogether essential"
EDGE - 9/10

"In turning a text adventure into a world map, Simogo has resurrected a long-dead genre with style and confidence. Great presentation and brilliant puzzles complete a stellar package"
Pocketgamer – 9/10

"Ever exceeding expectations, the developer has followed up one of 2013′s highlights with another title that can be classed as such. With a compelling story that keeps you guessing, and a pin-point utilisation of the platform, Device 6 is an accomplishment in games design, mobile or otherwise"
God is a Geek - 9/10

"DEVICE 6 not only explores the boundaries of narrative storytelling, it also demonstrates the creative potential of touchscreen gaming"
Appspy – 5/5

"Simogo’s doing something few others are doing, and it’s wonderful that someone is both providing great experiences and testing the limits of interactive media"
148apps - 5/5

"An ingenious slice of puzzling adventure that's as imaginative as it is stylish"
Modojo - 4.5/5